Reclaimed, Repurposed, Renewed

Do any of these words describe any aspect of your life today?  They are all new “buzz words” in our world today.  My daughter is a recycle queen. She has even convinced me to do the same thing.  I have a friend who loves to repurpose items from one person to another. When he can no longer use it, he makes sure someone gets it so they can continue to get some use out of it.  Reclaimed lumber is the craze in building new houses.  Just look at a home and design magazine!
How about you?  Have you been reclaimed, repurposed, or renewed? The bible says that we are new creatures in Christ.  No longer what we used to be but now with a new purpose in life.   You have a new heart, a heart of flesh. You who once were lost have now been found.   In Isaiah 43.1 it says “for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.”  If you claim to be a Christian, you have been reclaimed, repurposed and renewed.

How does that change the way you live?  Recently, I had the opportunity to spend some time with a 16-year young man who wanted to build a seaman’s chest.  After some time deciding what to build it out of, I remembered a friend who was getting rid of some old pine flooring from a house he was renovating.  It was soon going to be burned or tossed into the dumpster.  After removing some nails, sanding all the finish off, gluing the boards into 6 panels, we had a beautiful seaman’s chest made of pine 100 years old.  It was beautiful, restored, flooring boards repurposed into a chest, and given a new life.  Is that not what God has done for you?  Are you living into what you have been created to do?  You have been given a new heart. You are a new creation.  It is your choice to live like it or not.   It is your choice, choose well.